The Devil's Distraction
by Sophia E
Summary: Loki is on the loose again with new plans of conquest. But this time, he has an offer for Tony Stark. Is there a deeper, more sinister plot in the works? And what can Tony and the Avengers do to foil it? Or is there something unexpected in the God of Mischief's interest? Takes place three months after the end of the movie. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own The Avengers or any of the Marvel characters. This is fan-made work and not for profit._

* * *

Puzzling over a few Diophantine equations he thought might solve his latest metallurgical problem, Tony Stark hit the button at the entrance of his penthouse office suite. As the door slid open, he strode in briskly—only to come to an abrupt stop, his pulse thudding as a surge of adrenaline flooded his body.

"Jarvis—" he began.

"He can't hear you." The melodic, cultured voice was all too familiar. Lounging on one of Tony's white leather divans, impeccably clad in a thigh-length black coat over a black vest and trousers, was none other than the supposedly imprisoned God of Mischief himself. His long legs were propped up on an ottoman, and one pale hand twirled a glass of deep garnet wine—poured, Tony realized with slight dismay, from the open bottle of 1998 Petrus Merlot standing on the teak end table beside him.

"Hey. Who gave you permission to raid my personal stash? I was saving that bottle of wine for a special occasion. It's pricey even for me."

Loki glanced at the wineglass in his hand. "Did you not offer me a drink, once upon a time? I am merely accepting your gracious hospitality." He tilted his head to one side with a charming smile. His dark hair was shorter than it had been the last time Tony saw him, combed back neatly above his aristocratic features, nothing but calm amusement visible in his countenance. Not that it caused Tony to relax in any way—in his experience, Loki was perfectly capable of executing mass murder with the most serene of smiles upon his face.

"Well, it's not very gracious to silence my AI." Tony noticed that all the monitors in his office were blank as well. Not a good sign.

Loki's thin lips curled in a faint sneer. "I have always detested being spied upon." He waved a hand desultorily. "But you may set your mind at ease. Defenestration is not on the agenda today."

Tony thought rapidly as he strolled into the room with the appearance of nonchalance. So Loki's magic could interfere with technology now? He hadn't seen it in the latest SHIELD file. That was a valuable piece of intelligence he could pass on—assuming he got out of this little encounter alive. So what was Loki's game? He must be here for a reason, and hopefully it wasn't simply to deprive the world of the genius of one Tony Stark.

"I'm going to have to have a word with Thor about his security measures," he said lightly, crossing to the bar, keeping the other man in his peripheral vision. He reached for a bottle of scotch. "How'd you lose the dog muzzle?"

Loki tensed imperceptibly; then his green eyes flooded with amusement. "Come now, Stark, you surely don't believe that I have ever been imprisoned except by my own will?"

Tony snorted and poured himself a couple of fingers of scotch. Then he paused, and for good measure, topped off the shot glass. "Let me guess. Thor fell for the old now-you-see-it, now-you-don't trick again, eh?" He shook his head. "And after all those sinister insinuations to Fury about the rigors of 'Asgardian justice.' That soft spot of his toward you is going to be the death of us all one day."

Loki chuckled and slung one slender arm across the back of the couch. "You assume that my ability to… mislead people is limited to my idiotic brother."

Tony tossed back the shot. There. That felt better. He slid the fingers of the hand not holding the glass along the smooth seam between two of the drawers, seeking the hidden catch. "No, I'm wondering why the man who would be King is slumming with a lowly mortal. Or did you come here to ask my help evading Chitauri vengeance? Because my consulting calendar is full right now."

The green eyes grew cold. "I do not ask for help." He lifted a shoulder and let it drop dismissively. "The Chitauri are feeble creatures that are not worth my time."

"You didn't say that in your marketing campaign, I hope. You'll have a hard time recruiting additional cannon fodder with that attitude." Tony set the glass down and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you have a few more powerful allies though? I'd think they'd be kind of mad at you after your world domination plot failed so spectacularly. "

Loki shook his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Failed? And here I thought you were purported to be a genius." His eyes locked on Tony's. "Really. You know that brute force isn't my style. Why, when I have the ability to enspell and beguile, would I implement such a simplistic strategy?" He lifted the glass to his lips, took a leisurely sip. "Anyone with knowledge of military history knows that a frontal assault across an overextended supply line could never have succeeded. And against New York City of all places. Symbolic targets have their place, but not in a war of conquest." He shook his head. "I suppose it's foolish to expect so much of you when you didn't even comprehend the significance of my choice of the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra as my opening strike in our little game. Or was it Cleveland?" He raised a mocking eyebrow. "Haven't you figured out yet that everything went according to my plan?"

"Huh. I didn't know that being smashed like a rag doll by the big green guy was in your plans. You must be kinkier than I thought."

"Verisimilitude." Loki shrugged. "I am nothing if not thorough."

"Come on," Tony said in disbelief. "You can't be trying to convince me that it was all a bluff, that you're not interested in world domination. What happened to 'you will kneel to me,' and 'freedom from choice is what you want'?" His searching fingers finally found the hidden catch, and slid open a secret drawer under the bar. "Though I never liked Devo anyway."

The black-clad man scoffed. "You said it yourself. It was a stage show." One corner of his mouth curled up as he leaned back into the seat. "Although I cannot deny it was fun to see all those fools running and shrieking in fear."

Tony's hand twitched. "Which is why no one's ever going to vote for you for King." The drawer was empty. Damn! Where had he put those bracelets? "Anyone who gets so much glee from killing innocents and blowing things up will always come out last in the popularity poll."

Loki lifted one slender eyebrow. "Oh? I seem to recall a certain weapons manufacturer who derives a great deal of pleasure from causing violent explosions and all sorts of devastation. Not to mention the innocent blood that is on _your_ hands."

Guilt speared in Tony, sharp and ever fresh, but nothing showed on his face. "At least I have the decency to be remorseful."

"And you assume I am incapable of remorse?" The elegant voice was mocking.

"It doesn't seem to be in your resume." Keeping his eyes steady on the trickster, Tony opened another drawer. "So then—why did you do it? Why make the deal with the Chitauri? Why smash up my world?"

Sighing, Loki turned to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows (Tony couldn't help but stiffen a bit, just in case the guy was getting ideas), his fingers playing idly with the stem of the wineglass. "I required certain information from my… allies. The Tesseract was a sufficient bribe. I merely needed to convince them that my ambitions were too petty to conflict with theirs." His lips twisted. "So I played crazy god out for vengeance for a while." He lifted his eyes to Tony's, paused, and then with a slow smile and a pass of his hand over his eyes, allowed madness to flare within them once again. His eyes fairly glowed with unholy blue light. Tony stared at him, uncomfortably reminded of their previous encounters. Loki's mouth quirked in a lopsided smile as his eyes regained their normal appearance. "Admit it. You fell for it too."

Tony groped in the back of the drawer. "It does seem to be more in character than honest reflection. You can't be saying that the whole conquer the earth thing was a feint."

"Oh, but I am." Satisfaction coiled in the silky voice.

"So hundreds of innocent people died simply so you could get something you wanted?" Tony shook his head in disgust. His hand closed on cool metal.

"Says the weapons manufacturer who sold arms for profit." Loki shrugged. "Besides, Midgard is overpopulated with mortals. I'm doing your planet a favor. Relieve the population pressure and maybe it could even slow global warming."

Tony refused to rise to the bait this time. He scoffed, "Man, you're getting boring. Is it a sign of old age when you repeat yourself? You said last time it was all for our own good and we know where that got us." He slipped one hand into a bracelet and clicked it quietly shut. "Oh, yeah, I know that you do everything out of altruism. Should I put your name up for philanthropist of the year?" The other bracelet was in place.

Loki lidded his eyes and smiled. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, exposing a white, slender throat. Good target, thought Tony as he reached for one other metallic implement in the drawer.

"Actually, I understand that all the property damage in New York has set off a construction boom and reduced the unemployment rate. Stimulated the economy." Loki's lazy smile broadened. "I'm a job creator."

In a flash, Tony's hand closed on one of his latest inventions: a mini arc reactor-powered throwing knife with a rotating microfilament edge. He flicked it straight at that tempting white throat. The knife accelerated as it flew, and a sharp 'crack' was heard in the room as it burst through the sound barrier. At the same time, he activated the emergency signal on the bracelets that should punch through whatever jamming field Loki had on his communication system. "Jarvis! Activate the suit." He jumped to one side in anticipation of an attack from the Asgardian and crouched, waiting for all hell to break loose the way they tended to around Loki and his magical weapons.

There was a long, pregnant, and unfortunately quiet pause.

After a moment, Tony peered around the edge of the bar. No response from Jarvis—well, he had half expected that.

But Loki hadn't even moved from his indolent sprawl on the couch. A graceful gesture with one hand drew Tony's eyes to his own knife, now caught and deactivated, held loosely between long fingers. Loki's eyes glittered like emeralds. "Ah, you're so entertaining, little mortal," he breathed. "Defiance is so stimulating."

Tony straightened behind his bar, breathing heavily. He shrugged. "I try."

Loki exhaled slowly. "You fool," he said without heat, "can't you see that I came here to communicate rather than to destroy you? Or have I overestimated your intelligence once again?"

Tony flashed him a cocky smirk. "I doubt it. No one ever has before." Time for another drink, he decided. "So what did you want to say? Make it quick; my time is valuable and I have another meeting soon with some_ important_ people."

Loki actually rolled his eyes and Tony grinned.

"I have a proposal for you, Stark."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you very much for the faves, follows, and reviews! I welcome feedback and constructive criticism at any time. And to answer Franjipani123, yes, all the Avengers will appear in this story._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own The Avengers or any of the Marvel characters. This is fan-made work and not for profit._

* * *

The elegant voice was clear and melodic. "I have a proposal for you, Stark."

Tony smirked and angled his head. "No thanks, I'm not the marrying type. You could try Thor; I hear he looks good in a wedding dress."

Loki produced a sardonic chuckle before waving a hand. "Don't flatter yourself, Stark." He lifted himself off the couch and Tony had to admire his economy of movement; he moved with the grace of a trained martial artist. Loki straightened his shoulders and for a moment Tony was reminded of the broad-shouldered leather and metal armor he had seen him in last.

The green eyes held his. "My proposition is simple. I will agree to meet with you regularly under a flag of truce and give you specific information that will help you. I have certain plans, but they do not necessarily include the full conquest of your realm."

Tony stared. This had to be some kind of trick. But what was behind it? "And why should I do this?"

Loki's face bore an open, friendly expression; surely that was evidence he was at his most devious. The god was 'incapable of sincerity' according to his own brother, Tony reminded himself. "First, because it will help you. I am giving you the option to deflect certain of my activities away from your earth. Second, if you do not, I will slaughter your friends."

Tony scoffed. "You tried that already, and it didn't work."

Loki tilted his head. "Do you truly believe that I could not have killed you, any of you, had I so wished?" He turned his right hand palm upwards. There was a brief flare of green.

Even as his attention was drawn to the sudden flash of light, Tony felt an abrupt impact in his chest. He could not help himself; he gasped and put his hand to his heart and found an empty cavity. His eyes flashed to Loki's palm, which now held a small glowing cylinder.

His arc reactor.

With a twisted smile, Loki lifted his left hand, and in that moment, was holding Captain America's shield.

He stood there looking smugly satisfied as Tony clutched the railing around the bar and tried to keep himself upright. Loki remained silent, waiting for Tony's response.

"If you were that powerful, why didn't you do this before?" Tony ground out, trying not to pant too loudly. His eyes remained riveted on the arc reactor resting so innocently in Loki's hand.

Loki shrugged languidly. "That would have been boring. And above all else, I detest boredom."

"Why? Why are you doing this? What do you get out of it?" Tony's vision was beginning to blur.

The god regarded the objects in his hands. "What I get out of it? Surely you have heard how much I enjoy conflict and games." He gestured and the objects disappeared. Underneath his hand, Tony felt his arc reactor once again in its accustomed place and breathed more steadily. "Besides, do you truly believe I have utterly no conscience?" Loki favored him with a beguiling smile.

Tony snorted. "Now you're slipping. That's a lie I could never believe. What about all the innocent humans you slaughtered?" He straightened, wondering if there was anything else he could do to evade the next attack. At least he felt better now.

Loki shrugged again. "Most mortals hold no interest for me." His lips bent into a tight smile. "However, I am offering you a chance to save those precious mortal lives that you are so concerned about."

Still disconcerted, Tony probed for more information. "Then why did you make each of us so angry? You deliberately made it personal."

Loki sighed. "I admit I was short on time. The Chitauri were growing tiresome. It is a truth of your species that hatred and anger makes you far easier to manipulate. You become so predictable." His eyes glittered as Tony could not help clenching a fist. "Besides, haven't you heard?" Loki asked lightly. "I am the god of discord. It was quite entertaining to see you all arguing and fighting amongst yourselves with only a tiny bit of help from me and the influence of the Chitauri scepter."

Rage rose within Tony at the man's callous attitude. "If you didn't want to kill us, why did you murder Phil?"

Loki's brow furrowed. "Phil?" he asked.

"Agent Coulson."

Loki's expression cleared. "Ah. That was a tactical error; my apologies." His face bore a regretful expression that Tony was sure was entirely fabricated. He continued smoothly, "He caught me off guard, and I was unsure of the power of the weapon he held. I struck without thinking. It turned out to be a strategic mistake on my part because his death counteracted all my careful manipulations to set you at each other's throats."

"So you admit you do make errors," Stark challenged.

"Of course. What's more, I am even offering you the opportunity to take advantage of those." He raised a dark eyebrow. "Now, isn't this an offer you can't refuse?"

Tony glared at him. "You're not supposed to be that familiar with our cultural references."

Loki examined his nails. "I hope you're not mistaking my level of intellect for that of Thor's. I have studied your realm, and I do read most of the major languages of Midgard." He lifted his gaze to Stark's. "One can learn so much about the heart and soul of a people by studying their works of art and fiction."

"All this heart and soul stuff makes me nervous, maybe, just maybe, because of your past actions. So do you promise you don't want to take over Earth?"

"I promise nothing. However, I do have an ultimate goal that does not necessarily involve Midgard. I give you the opportunity to influence the branches of my strategy tree that I will choose in order to enact my plan."

Stark frowned. "I still don't see why this is worth it to you. Pardon me if I suspect your motivations."

"Well, then that is a third benefit to you. You may eventually satisfy your curiosity on that count." His eyes sparkled with amusement. "So… in your parlance, do we have a deal?"

-o-

* * *

Walking down a deserted street that night, Loki felt the surge of all-too-familiar magic behind him before he heard anything. Then he sensed an inter-dimensional shift and heard the alien roar of anger. He schooled his features to blankness. When he turned, an expression of aloof exasperation was on his face.

"Well. It took you long enough to find me," he scolded mildly.

He glanced about him. In the dimness all around him were several dozen of the alien warriors, all with weapons trained on him. In front of him, seated upon a huge throne carved out of black rock, sat the gigantic, shrouded form of his former ally. Thanos. At his feet stood the Other.

Loki smiled disarmingly and raised his hands palm outward.

"You!" came the gravelly voice from the darkness. "Did you seek to escape us?"

Loki chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Of course not. I've been looking for you so I could provide you with advice on how to continue our plans to obtain the Tesseract." He made an expansive gesture with both hands. "Now, you see—"

At an unseen gesture from their ruler, two of the gray-skinned aliens stepped forward and seized Loki brutally under the arms, lifting him so his legs dangled helplessly in the air. Upon his face was a look of innocent, startled bewilderment.

"Do not attempt to deceive us," growled the voice. "You failed to uphold your end of the bargain, Asgardian, and now you will suffer grievously for your failure."

Loki looked from side to side at his two captors with bemusement. "No, there must be some misunderstanding. We experienced a minor setback, it is true, but that doesn't imply we should give up so easily. I have utterly no conception why you might be so irritated."

His brow puckered with mild confusion, and then his voice took on the peremptory tone of command of an Asgardian prince. "Put me down at once so I can address your leader with the proper respect," he berated his captors. "You show your King the basest insolence." At his imperious tone, the soldiers gaped, startled, and then abruptly dropped him. Loki landed gracefully on his feet and adjusted a few leather straps that had shifted out of place. Calmly, his eyes tracked upward to the face that appeared carved in granite. "I had assumed you still wanted the Tesseract. Is that no longer true?"

"You lost the war against those pitiful humans. And the Tesseract was taken out of your hands. Believe me when I say you shall know pain."

"Now really." He clucked his tongue. "Do you not recall the counsel I gave you at the very beginning? Where I advised against a direct frontal assault on the mortals' most populous city?" He flicked his fingers and a wavering image sprung into view; the demigod stood in full armor before the Other, the background dark and uncertain.

_The image of Loki spoke softly. "I believe you are underestimating the mortals' tenacity." He cocked his head and smiled ingratiatingly. "Now, if I may humbly suggest..."_

_"Silence!" The Other cut him off with a harsh gesture. "Foolish child, your place is simply to execute that which greater minds than yours have planned. If you do not want your tongue cut out, you will cease these pointless attempts to increase your own glory by inflating the might of these pathetic humans. Now, you will listen closely and you will obey—"_

_The helmeted demigod shrugged. "On your own head be it then."_

With a wave of Loki's hand, the image faded.

There was a growl from above, but no words.

Loki shook his head with benign perplexity. "Yes, I informed you at that time it was a mistake. Truly," he cocked his head to one side, "if you enter into an alliance with a master strategist, you should listen to him."

"You dare to place yourself above us?"

The demigod shrugged his shoulders. "It's simply a matter of deploying your resources appropriately. Not everyone has the same skills. You were in charge of the first battle, you chose a plan of attack in direct contradiction to my advice, and you lost."

"You attempt to pass blame? You chose your agents in the human world; you selected the tower of the metal cyborg for your base. You underestimated the humans' strength."

Loki raised a finger. "Ah, ah, ah, but I was not alone in that. And it was your strategy that locked us into an all-or-nothing approach." He tipped his head backward and smiled. "I was merely making the best of a bad situation. Do you not recall that I suggested a more subtle strategy, using guile and stealth to turn more of the human governments to our side in advance, with the Chitauri to enter in secret at multiple points of entry around the globe?" Loki crossed his arms and stood with his legs apart, his face stern. "You overrode my judgment in your impatience and arrogance. The failure of this salvo is all on you. Now, do you aspire to possess the Tesseract or not?"

"You dare to speak to me so…"

The demigod gave an exaggerated sigh and half turned away, waving a hand. "Yes, yes, I am fully aware that you would prefer to indulge yourself by humiliating me, grinding me into the dust and foregoing your chance at the power you seek." He gave a rueful shrug and said almost to himself, "For some reason, it seems that everybody wants nothing more than to humiliate me." He turned back to the alien on the throne. "It shall be your verdict, Majesty. Do you yearn merely for short-term gratification, or do you intend to hold in your hands the force that can subjugate the universe?"

There was a long silence. The monstrous eyes stared down at him with blatant hostility, but after a while, the growling voice responded in a more neutral tone. "What do you propose, Asgardian?"

"I have no desire to terminate our bargain. But this time, you will invest me with full authority for all strategic decisions." His voice was cold. "The Tesseract is beyond your reach, in Asgard. I alone possess the ability, through guile and trickery, to obtain it. You will place your military forces at my command, and at my command alone. I will devise the appropriate strategy to vanquish the mortals and win us both the prizes we seek."

The being regarded him in stony silence, dull red eyes glaring. Then he rumbled, "You have a history of turning on your confederates, God of Lies. What guarantee have we that you will not deceive us?"

Loki laughed. "That is the easiest warranty of all. Let us be logical. We both know that you are far more powerful than I and can easily annihilate me should I endeavor to double-cross you." He tilted his head and one side of his mouth curled upward. "You say you are aware of my history of opportunism. My motivations are clear and my nature is selfish." He favored the alien with a charming smile. "In this case, it is simply in my best interest to remain loyal to you. You know I have no love for Odin and Thor, and yet…" He lidded his eyes. "They have something of a soft spot for me, as evidenced by my effortless escape from their custody. You, on the other hand …" He gave a mock shiver. "You would severely punish me should I betray you, while Asgard would let me off with a slap on the wrist. Thus, it is far more to my advantage to have them as an enemy and you as an ally than the other way around."

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of low, rasping breathing. Then the alien shifted on his throne and what almost sounded like a chuckle of wry amusement issued from his throat. "Very well. You are aptly named Silver-tongue, Asgardian. When I sought out this meeting, I was quite certain it would end in your imprisonment, torment, and death. But now you have talked your way into a brief respite." His voice dropped lower. "But beware. The threat I made before still hangs over your head, should you fail to obtain the Tesseract. And next time, there will be no second chance."

"Most certainly," said Loki lightly, brushing some dust off his sleeve. "I am as eager to resolve our covenant as you are." He turned to go, and then paused, looking back over his shoulder. "I shall now retrieve the scepter, and then use it to contact you when I am ready to make my next move."

"I understood it was in the hands of the humans, and heavily guarded."

A devious smile spread over Loki's face. "Have no fear. I have already taken the first steps there. Mortals." He shook his head in rueful amusement. "So easy to deceive."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own The Avengers or any of the Marvel characters. This is fan-made work and not for profit._

* * *

Tony scowled as he looked once more at the tiny lines of script in pale green ink on the document bearing both his and Loki's signatures. The paper felt like some kind of parchment, exceedingly thin, yet so strong that he could not tear it. When he had first looked at the piece of paper, it had read like an ordinary legal contract, similar to the ones he signed so often for Pepper.

He and Loki had shared a drink, and he had felt almost chummy with the demigod at the end. He didn't _exactly_ remember what Loki had promised, but somehow the deal had seemed relatively appealing at the time. Of course, that had been after several shots of scotch and a couple of glasses of the thousand-dollar Merlot (_his_ Merlot, he remembered with a frown) that Loki had opened. It had certainly gone down smoothly. The Merlot, that was.

Well, the deal too.

Loki's arguments had all seemed very persuasive and smooth.

Now he wished that he had asked Pepper to take a look at this contract. He had felt the flush of magical binding as soon as he had lifted his pen off the paper, but before he could interrogate Loki on the details, the god had teleported away. He rubbed a hand over his face. As usual, he had leaped into something without fully thinking it through, and now he was worried that he had signed some sort of devil's bargain. He squinted at the unreadable tiny green script. He wouldn't put it past Loki to have included some unpleasant clause like signing his soul away.

Oh well. "Jarvis," he announced, flattening the sheet on the end table. "Scan this contract, perform optical character recognition on it, run our latest text analysis program on the full transcript, and route the calculated implications and potential risks to my private inbox. Highest encryption."

"Very well, sir. Should I send a copy of the results to Ms. Potts as well?"

Tony cringed, imagining the scolding he would doubtless receive from Pepper if she were to learn what he had just done.

_"You did what? Signed a magical contract with Loki, the God of Deceit and Lies – without running it by the staff of high-priced lawyers we keep on retainer for precisely this purpose – and WITHOUT TELLING ME?"_

Tony shuddered. His ears were ringing and she wasn't even in the room.

"Uh, no. Not at this time, Jarvis."

Maybe it was time to go work on some upgrades to the suit. Just in case.

* * *

Tony hadn't heard from Loki for a couple of weeks. He had been busy in the lab, tinkering with a new set of sensors to detect and hopefully repel the odd energy signature that appeared to mark Loki's magic. The energy was out of phase with all known electromagnetic radiation, but Tony had been pleased to discover that one of his old detectors would theoretically work if he tuned the resistive flux to a fractal frequency. He had tested it against some previous recordings of magical activity and everything looked promising. He was humming under his breath as he worked the micro actuators to install the delicate devices under the shoulder plates of his suit.

Somehow developing this technology made him feel much more at ease, and had helped banish the sneaking suspicion that he had put himself in a terrible disadvantage vis-à-vis Loki. He felt almost back to his normal state of cocky invincibility.

Almost.

There was a bright flash of actinic light and one of the test devices he had clamped on the bench incinerated itself, sending up a cloud of acrid-smelling smoke. Bending to examine it, he checked the tiny display beside the device.

It had recorded an extremely powerful signature not too far away before it burned out.

_Yes!_ Tony crowed to himself as he gestured to Dummy to turn on the lab ventilation to evacuate the toxic-smelling smoke. He began running a GPS triangulation program on the signal. When the results came in, he frowned and ran the program again. That couldn't be right.

Why would Loki's magical signature be present in Stark Tower right now?

"Jarvis, run a close scan of all energy signatures within the tower and triple check them against this template I just input."

"Running, sir."

Tony unclamped the test device and applied a micro-screwdriver to one of its tiny panels while waiting for Jarvis to return with the results. He scowled at the innards of the device: completely fried. Well, he had all the materials to build another, hopefully more robust version.

"Sir, we have a match in subbasement C."

Tony's head came up. "What?"

"The specified energy signature exists in a supply room in subbasement C, although it is very weak, much weaker than the specified template."

Tony was already pulling up the building schematics. His eyes narrowed as he examined the three-dimensional view with the small glowing red dot in the lowest floor of Stark Tower. Tearing off his goggles and slipping a small device into his pocket, he strode toward the lab doors. "Jarvis, put security on standby and prepare for an emergency call if I don't return within ten minutes."

"Should I put in a call to Avengers headquarters?"

"Only if I don't come back."

* * *

Tony stood in front of a nondescript metal door in the subbasement. There was no sign it had been opened anytime recently. "Jarvis, give me an infrared scan of this room."

The image flashed into existence in the air before him, clear except for a dim, blurred shape on the floor of the supply room. Tony gestured and the image zoomed in on the blur.

On the _body-shaped_ blur, immobile on the floor and at a much lower temperature than that of a living human.

Tony cursed under his breath. If Loki had dumped a recent kill in his building, there was going to be hell to pay. "Open the door and turn on the lights, Jarvis."

The door swung open with a quiet click. Tony barged into the room, only to stop suddenly on the threshold. It looked like someone had been camping out here. He spotted a compact stove, a jug of water, a tidy bundle of clothing… This was bizarre. He'd never found a homeless person making a nest in his high-tech sanctum, but there was a first time for everything.

Tony's eyes scanned the room. In the shadows, he could see a makeshift pallet beneath the rows of shelves neatly stacked with arrays of engine parts. Upon the pallet lay a human body. Dead? Tony took a step forward.

He took a closer look at the figure crumpled on the pallet. Not dead. The body was still moving.

A green-and-black leather-clad body, moaning and – was that _blood_?

"Loki?" he asked superfluously. He shook his head in disbelief. "I would have thought a Prince of Asgard could afford to pay for a hotel room, even in this city."

The only answer was a low moan. Tony moved closer. The god's eyes were shut, one hand pressed limply to a gaping wound in his side, dark red blood spurting out from between long pale fingers.

"Jarvis," Tony called. "Bring the medical robot here with the first aid kit. No –" he checked himself. "The full set of surgical equipment. And contact our medical staff, whoever's on call –"

"Belay that." Loki's voice was faint but imperious. "No one else can know I'm here." He coughed. "I am hidden from certain types of magical scrying due to our contract, Stark. If anyone else –" he stopped to pant briefly. "If anyone else sees me, beings of vast and careless power will wreak havoc not only on me but on all mortal lives and structures within a relatively large radius."

Tony's eyebrows lifted. "Just who have you pissed off now, Loki?"

Loki rolled over to squint at Tony out of a single eye nearly swollen shut. The human grimaced. Loki's face was scored with parallel claw marks, one eye a mass of gore and part of his face looking like raw steak. "My apologies," he rasped. "It seems I am once again on the verge of bringing destruction to Midgard. Please believe me when I say it was not my intent." Blood dribbled out of his mouth as he spoke and Tony winced some more.

"I'm not really a doctor, you know," Tony offered. There was a whirring from the doorway as the automated medical robot arrived. "I tend to think of everything as a mechanical system. You know, plug the leaks, hook up the tubing, etc."

Loki closed his eye and exhaled softly. "No matter. That is likely all that is needed. I do heal rapidly."

"I just hope I can get all the leaks plugged before you run completely out of fluid," muttered Tony. "So can you tell me who did this to you?"

But Loki had passed out and did not respond.

* * *

Two hours later, Tony frowned as he sat in a chair in the small guestroom where he had installed his patched-together patient. He was wondering what he should do next. Of course Loki was an enemy, but the wounds on his body had not been merely from a battle. Loki showed signs of torture and malnourishment; his already thin body had become skeletal, marked with crisscrossing sores and welts. There was evidence of partially healed bone breaks all over his body, and deep hematomas indicated internal bleeding. Where had he been the past few weeks? Whoever had worked him over possessed quite a wallop and not much of a conscience. Tony would not have wished this kind of treatment on anyone, not even his worst enemy. Which, now that he thought about it, Loki probably qualified as. But still.

It was even more distressing because Tony knew how tough Loki and his kin were. He had seen the Asgardians recover from attacks and wounds that would have been fatal many times over for anyone else. Thor had even survived that 30,000 foot drop that Loki was responsible for. Remembering that, Tony frowned again. Perhaps he should try to contact Thor.

But that would mean alerting Fury and SHIELD to Loki's presence on Earth. Tony had a feeling that Fury wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of Loki's weakened state to get him under control once and for all. He knew Fury was still itching to question the demigod about the new potential threats to Earth – and Fury, unlike Tony, had demonstrated that he was not above using torture to get what he wanted. Again, Tony scowled. After spending all that time and effort trying to take care of Loki, it somehow felt like a betrayal to even think of turning him over to SHIELD at this point.

It was confusing. Wasn't Loki the bad guy? And nobody should care what happens to the villain.

But then there was all the collateral damage that Loki had hinted at. Yes, better to lie low and trust in the Asgardian's divine healing abilities for now.

Tony shifted in the chair. The light was low, in deference to Loki's still-healing eye. Tony had marveled after he changed the bandages. The demigod's eyeball and cornea were already regenerating. If only he could bottle some of that miraculous Asgardian healing ability, just think of the lives that could be saved. His brows lowered. Not to mention healing the eye of that man in Stuttgart that Loki had maimed.

Tony sat up straighter as an idea struck him. Surely that healing factor had to be present in Loki's blood, copious amounts of which were present in the drainage channels in Tony's surgical table, not to mention all those blood-soaked bandages. If he could take some of that and isolate the factor, just think of the benefits it could bring to Earth. Better even than clean energy.

It might, just might, assuage some of the guilt Tony could never quite rid himself of feeling. Plus, he thought as he looked at the sleeping demigod, it could go a long way towards gaining Loki some forgiveness.

Of course, he admitted to himself, he wasn't much of a biologist.

But how hard could it be?

"Jarvis, assemble an accelerated course on cellular biology and healing mechanisms, including their associated genetics in the human body." He was already striding to the lab. "I've got some reading to do tonight."

* * *

In the room behind him, one of Loki's little fingers twitched.

The little red LED beside the surveillance camera went dark. In the dim light of the room, Loki's eyes opened.

A slow, dark smile spread across his face.


End file.
